The next day at noon, Zhang Cheng accompanied his older sister shopping. The two of them carried large and small bags back home. Zhang Yu went off to chat with her boyfriend, so Zhang Cheng entered the gaming pod first to check his quest progress.
After more than a dozen hours of nonstop travel on the Earth Dragon beneath their feet, they had already covered more than half of the journey. Zhang Cheng did the math and realized that the Earth Dragon wasn’t slow at all.
In the game, an ordinary horse’s stamina only lasts for two hours at most, and generally, after an hour and a half, it needs half an hour to recover. So, for long-distance group travel, the Earth Dragon was only a little slower than a regular horse, but the cost was just a fraction of renting a horse.
A little after 4 p.m., the four of them received the notification to log in. After returning the hardworking Earth Dragon to the stables, they entered Dulinte, the border town of the Knight Nation.
Dulinte was built between two mountain ranges, the entire city narrow and long, completely guarding the exit of the road.
As they walked through the city, observing as they went, aside from thicker walls and more soldiers, they didn’t find much different from other towns. Maybe the city wasn’t on alert yet, as the streets didn’t seem tense, so they left the city and headed towards the Empire.
Although relations between the two countries weren’t very friendly, this trade route was bustling. The two militaries also had a tacit understanding to avoid dragging merchant convoys into any conflicts.
The four walked all the way to the front of Fiery Sun Fortress. Along the way, they saw countless merchant caravans, merchants and guards everywhere. Many of these guards were Adventurers’ Guild parties, frequenting this trade route and greeting familiar faces. The game company had put a lot of effort into the details, making people marvel at how realistic the game was.
Their journey was smooth, and they entered Fiery Sun Fortress without obstruction. Zhang Cheng looked at the familiar streets in silence—what happened during the closed beta was rather embarrassing, and he definitely wouldn’t bring it up himself.
After leaving the city, they compared the treasure map and the System map to locate the approximate spot.
Arriving at the previously marked location, they were troubled to see no reaction in the quest log. Did they get the wrong spot?
Puzzled, they flipped through the treasure map. When the map reached the cat-eared girl’s hands, the ground beneath them suddenly vanished. A spatial rift appeared right below. Before they could react, their bodies were already sinking down.
It was pitch-black all around. When the feeling of weightlessness faded, their vision gradually cleared.
They were now standing on a spectator platform, a huge circular dueling arena before them, with a massive creature nearby. Looking at each other, they realized their outfits and weapons had changed dramatically.
The cat-eared girl’s original black leather armor and coat had become a white cloak. She held short blades in both hands, her arms covered with bracers, sleeve daggers and hooked blades hidden within, with several throwing knives hanging from her waist.
She was flipping her new gear over and over, especially fascinated by the hooked blade. This extendable hook could shoot out two meters forward and retract with another trigger, or even pull her toward the target.
Qi Wen was clad in light armor, sword and shield in hand, chainmail underneath, iron plates protecting vital spots outside, and a rounded-top bucket helm on his head.
Zhang Yu had changed the least—just a white feathered crown on her head. She still wore a white priest’s robe and held a staff, but the outfit was much more ornate than before.
The most striking was Zhang Cheng. Dressed in full Gothic plate armor, a Gryphon stood beside him. Zhang Cheng lifted his helmet to examine his mount—a massive beast with a lion’s body, eagle’s head, and lion’s tail, three meters long, an iconic creature in Western fantasy.
Unlike the mythological Gryphons that detest humans, this one beside him seemed tame, turning its head to nuzzle Zhang Cheng’s hand, as if asking for a pat.
Seeing this, Zhang Cheng patted the Gryphon with his gauntleted hand while pulling up his character status window.
He found his level had been temporarily raised to 60, his class changed from Apprentice Knight to Grand Knight, but higher-level skills were still locked.
The Gryphon was also level 60—clearly a temporary trial card from the System.
At that moment, a System prompt popped up.
Quest Info: Defeat all enemies in the arena to achieve victory. After each wave defeated, you get a random reward. If you fail, your reward count is calculated and you are forcibly ejected from the Dungeon after receiving your rewards.
If the party defeats all three waves of enemies, you get an extra reward, and that reward is guaranteed to be a blue-quality or higher item.
Below the quest, it showed they had just over four minutes to prepare. When the countdown ended, the treasure map challenge would start automatically.
The group was shocked. They’d seen a Luck stat requirement before and guessed the Dungeon would be a test of intelligence. Although they had suspicions about the equipment changes, they hadn’t expected the treasure map’s hidden quest to require actual combat. They immediately checked their gear and weapons.
Four minutes flew by. As the System announced the end of the countdown, the four and the beast were teleported into the arena.
On the other side, three phantoms appeared. When the phantoms solidified, three large magical beasts appeared—LV60 Pegasi.
Before they could react, the Gryphon beside Zhang Cheng grew excited and, ignoring its temporary master, leapt forward, letting out a piercing roar.
The three winged Pegasi were startled, took flight, and scattered.
The group stared in shock, watching the Gryphon hunt in the sky as it quickly took down all three Pegasi.
After the battle, the exhausted Gryphon was hungry and strode over to enjoy its feast.
But as the System prompt signaled quest completion, the Pegasi corpses vanished. The Gryphon froze, eagle eyes full of shock, anxiously circling the sky, but couldn’t find its prey.
The System prompt sounded again, asking if they wished to continue the challenge. Even if they failed, their current reward count would be saved.
The four felt they were still in good shape and agreed.
The next moment, three more Pegasi spawned—this time, LV70, heads held high and full of spirit.
The Gryphon, still hungry and confused, eyed the three unharmed Pegasi. But seeing such delicious prey, it didn’t hesitate, diving in once again.
The group watched chaos unfold in the arena. The three Pegasi, facing their natural enemy, were suppressed in spirit. Even though they were ten levels higher than the Gryphon, they couldn’t use half their strength. Soon, one fell.
Starving, the Gryphon ate the first one it killed, ignoring the other two, dragging its catch aside to devour.
With the Gryphon no longer attacking, the remaining Pegasi regained their senses and circled around to attack the four.
Zhang Cheng quickly called his temporary mount, but the previously obedient Gryphon ignored him. Helpless, the group had to face the two Pegasi themselves.
Here, knowing that everyone on Pineapple Bun doesn’t like battle scenes, the author is totally not skipping the fight because they can’t write it, hmph!
After the fierce battle, all four were wounded, panting and covered in blood. Their once beautiful clothes and armor were damaged, their faces showing both panic and relief.
It all started just now.
When the two Pegasi charged, the four scrambled to respond. Zhang Cheng took the front as a matter of course, Spicy Rabbit Head flanked to harass, Qi Wen handled main damage, and Zhang Yu buffed and healed the team.
Though well-equipped, they only had basic skills despite their high stats, and soon began to falter.
The little thief girl couldn’t handle the extendable hook blade well. Seeing their hard-won hidden quest about to end, she panicked and accidentally fired her left arm’s hook blade, which, by luck, struck a Pegasus’s wing.
The hook wrapped around the base of the wing, hitting its weakest spot. The Pegasus panicked, taking the thief girl into the air, trying to shake her off.
But the high-quality hook had wound tightly several times and wouldn’t let go. The Pegasus tried again and again, but couldn’t shake off the thief girl, leaving Spicy Rabbit Head dizzy, spinning through the air.
The remaining three got a breather, turning the tide and taking down the other Pegasus.
The first Pegasus, after spinning in the air and failing to throw off the girl, ended up injuring its wing base and crash-landed.
The thief girl tumbled down with it, her eyes spinning like spirals, her hidden cat tail bristling, sticking up under her white cloak like a little tent.
With the Gryphon now full, the three and their mount easily finished the last Pegasus. As the System prompt sounded again, the Pegasus corpses vanished. The Gryphon, now suddenly empty-stomached, was hit by hunger again, letting out a shrill scream of confusion and fear.
The two fierce battles had left the Gryphon in extreme hunger, causing it to attack friend and foe alike. The four fought desperately, finally taking down the berserk Gryphon, but were left unable to continue fighting.
After discussing, they agreed they couldn’t handle any more battles. Regretful about missing the final reward, they chose to exit the Dungeon.
The System confirmed their exit, awarding each of them two random reward draws.
A dice tray and a 20-sided die appeared before each of them, with the rules attached and the System automatically rolling.
Item quality was determined by the result: 1-6 white; 7-11 green; 12-15 blue; 16-18 purple; 19+ gold.
Thump, thump, thump!
Their hearts raced with the dice. The first roll:
Thief “Spicy Rabbit Head”: 11+0, ordinary green light;
Swordsman “Hot Milk”: 3+0, hazy white light;
Priest “Cold Coffee”: 14+0, bright blue light;
Knight “Pink Rabbit”: 18+2, dazzling golden light!
Golden Legend!